On January 1, Switzerland’s Money Gaming act took effect and for the first time ever, this gave the country’s 21 land-based casino operators the green light to offer online casino games and betting. July 1 marked the official launch of online gambling in the country under the new gambling regime and so far, everything seems to be shaping up just as expected.
To begin with, four of the country’s 21 licenses land-based casino operators had already been awarded licenses by the Swiss Federal Council and are to launch their online gaming operations beginning July 21. The four casinos are Grand Casino Baden, Casino Davos, Grand Casino Luzern, and Casino Pfäffikon, all of which are among the leading gaming operators in the country.
However, out of the four casinos, Grand Casino Baden is perhaps the most competitive one since JackPots.ch, its online gaming brand has been operating as a free-to-play casino for quite some time and in that period, it has been able to amass a consumer base consisting of over 15,000 registered gamblers.
New Partnerships with International Online Gaming Operators
In accordance with the requirement of the country’s new gambling laws, most of the major gambling operators in the country have announced that they have partnered with renowned international gambling operators. For instance, Casino Pfäffikon chose to enter a partnership agreement with Playtech while renowned live casino provider Evolution Gaming recently announced that it had a partnership deal with Grand Casino Biden. Also, iSoftBet recently announced that it had been given the necessary authorization to offer its proprietary online gaming content and its Gaming Aggregation Platform to a number of B2B content providers in the country.
PokerStars Also Eyeing the Swiss Market
Early this year, the Stars Group-owned PokerStars discontinued its online gaming operations in the country – this was in compliance with the new gambling regime. The company has been known to avoid unregulated markets as it strives to keep a clean record and avoid any form of regulatory action.
However, the company is reportedly looking for ways to get into the country’s online gambling market. Unfortunately, PokerStars is yet to partner with any of the gambling operators in the country, at least none that we are aware of. Still, according to the company’s spokesperson, “are currently executing plans to ensure PokerStars will continue to be the market leader in the Swiss poker market.” As such, it is safe to assume that the behemoth online poker brand is currently looking for a partner in Switzerland and once it finds one it will make the announcement.